Activision Blizzard investor lawsuit emerges as shareholder sues

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A proposed shareholder class action lawsuit has been filed in a California court

Activision Blizzard lawsuit
(Image credit: Activision Blizzard)

An Activision Blizzard investor lawsuit has emerged in the wake of the recent case against the company.

Following the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing's Activision Blizzard Lawsuit, a company shareholder has now launched a potential class action lawsuit that is seeking damages for a "precipitous decline in the market value" due to Activision Blizzard hiding details of the investigation into the company from shareholders. 

A class-action lawsuit is when a group of people are able to bring a case against a defendant or defendants, and in this case, Gary Cheng has started proceedings by filing the case against Activision, as well as CEO Bobby Kotick, current CFO Dennis Durkin, and ex-CFO Spencer Neumann. The potential class for the lawsuit is any Activision Blizzard shareholder who acquired their stock between May 2017 and January 2021.

The lawsuit, as first reported by Bloomberg Law has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, and alleges that the company hid the full details of the DFEH's investigation into the company, misleading shareholders to the potential extent of the damage that could have been done to the company's operations. After the DEFH's lawsuit became public knowledge, it then claims that a "precipitous decline in the market value" followed.

The lawsuit also questions "whether the prices of Activision Blizzard securities during the Class Period were artificially inflated because of the Defendants’ conduct complained of herein".

Like the lawsuit brought against the company by the DEFH, this suit is also requesting a trial by jury. It is also looking for damages, costs, and fees should it be successful. 

Ben Tyrer
Ben Tyrer
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Ben Tyrer is a freelance games journalist with over ten years experience of writing about games. After graduating from Bournemouth University with a degree in multimedia journalism he's worked for Official PlayStation Magazine as a staff writer and games editor, as well as GamesRadar+ (hey, that's this website!) as a news editor. He's also contributed to Official Xbox Magazine, Edge, PC Gamer, GamesMaster, PC Games N, and more. His game of the year - no matter the year - is Rocket League.